These 2 Literacy Apps Work TOGETHER to Help ADHD & Dyslexic Readers Succeed!

With these 2 desktop apps in your tech toolbox, you'll be ready to support even more challenged readers!

Children and adults who struggle to read, especially individuals with ADHD and dyslexia, have many more options available to them today than they did only a few years ago. Now, there are many assistive technologies possible that were not even dreamed about a decade ago. Today, both higher-level tech resources and low-tech tools can offer much help for unfocused or otherwise challenged readers.

Some of these technologies can even be combined in order to better help the estimated 1 in 5 persons in the U.S. challenged with dyslexia or the 8 to 13% (depending on the state) of school-aged children in our country who have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorders (ADHD). These individuals can find it particularly difficult to focus, track, concentrate, comprehend and retain information when reading, especially for extended periods or when many pages of digital text must be read at a time.

One of the most popular and easily recognizable technologies to help these challenged readers is Amazon's Kindle, the well-known e-reader launched in late 2007 that has been most disruptive to the publishing world. The Kindle technology enables readers to eliminate glare with a unique screen, diminish the starkness of white page backgrounds behind dark, virtual text, manipulate font or text sizes and more to assist persons with various reading issues.

Turn Your Computer into a Kindle with This App from Amazon!

If this upfront cost is prohibitive, readers should seriously consider downloading the FREE Kindle app to your desktop or laptop, whether it is a Mac or Windows PC (the app is also available for other tech devices as well via the same web page). It costs nothing to turn one's computer into a virtual Kindle and then immediately allows the individual to purchase e-books from Amazon.com for download directly to your computer. Kindle app download link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/kcp-landing-page/

For challenged readers who often struggle with focus and attention, tracking, comprehension and retention, it would be hard to beat the combination of the Kindleapp AND an innovative application called the Reading Focus Cards desktop app (Patent 8,360,779) for Macs and Windows PC's. If you know a challenged student or other struggling reader with ADHD or dyslexia, this 2-app combination can enable that individual to experience more comfortably focused, sustained and successful reading of e-books or other digital media.

When in use, the virtual Reading Focus Card actually floats on top AND stays on top of e-book pages or any underlying application to more easily read a web page, Word or PDF document, Excel spreadsheet, e-book or other digital media.

If readers become overwhelmed with too much text on a digital page of an e-book, the Reading Focus Cards app directs the eye to what needs to be read WHILE covering as much or as little of the surrounding text as selected by the reader. Nearly an entire digital e-book page can be covered to improve focus on the text line needing attention. Reading Focus Cards desktop app download links: Mac version: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-and-focus/id920617853?mt=12Windows PC version: https://gumroad.com/l/ReadingFocusCards

– Easily move the virtual Reading Focus Card over an underlying e-book or other application on the screen with a touchpad, mouse, arrow keys or even with your fingers, where touch technology is applicable.

– With this app's pop-up Toolbox, independently customize the color, level of transparency, height, width and orientation of both the virtual Reading Window and Reading Card, respectively, to provide more reading comfort to focus and block out distractions, keeping you focused on the text you need to read.

– Adjust the virtual Reading Focus Card to accommodate very large fonts or extensive paragraphs, if you choose!

– Never worry about the virtual Reading Focus Card disappearing from the screen unexpectedly, even when using it with the Kindle app or other underlying programs! It floats on top AND stays on top of your computer screen, so you can scroll through e-book pages as well as read documents without interruption. You decide when to close the application.

Special Note: Currently, mobile devices are unable to successfully support this unique, overlay-type Reading Focus Cards app that stays on top of and moves independently of the underlying media applications.

Now, readers of any age and ability can improve their focus to read e-books as well as other digital media in greater comfort and with much more reading success. It is now possible with the combination of these 2 great apps, the Kindle app for Macs and Windows PC's AND the Reading Focus Cardsdesktop app.

Two weeks ago, we were very privileged to once again participate as educators in an excellent gifted education program called College for Kids. This program at the St. Louis Community College-Meramec was established over 30 years ago with the inspiration and support of dedicated and committed parents of gifted children in the Greater St. Louis Area.

The courses in the College for Kids program are offered each summer for gifted and talented elementary and middle school youth who have completed kindergarten through eighth grade. These courses are designed to further challenge and advance gifted students' skills.

The students we worked with in the program this week were outstanding and most enjoyable to teach! We provided 2 classes each of ¡Bienvenidos, Mis Amigos!, an exploratory Spanish class and a STEM course called Mechanical Robotic Arm Build. We certainly appreciated the enthusiasm and motivation demonstrated by these talented students. It was a GREAT week for ALL of us!

At the same time, we could not help but notice that even in this gifted population, there were more than a few students who also had additional needs. In our work, we have found that many parents and even teachers are not always aware that giftedness AND additional needs can sometimes co-exist for some students (called twice-exceptional). Very often, these needs involve attention and concentration issues for gifted children and teens. Many of their young minds require almost constant stimulation, which can in itself feed the ADHD they already may have.

For this reason and because of our experiences with students of all abilities, we thought it would be beneficial to our readers to provide a resource list for ADHD reading tips, especially during this back-to-school season. One of our previous articles entitled Let's Deal with Distractions---ADHD Strategies for Home & School included a rather extensive list of general home and school resources for ADHD.

This week, we continue to help parents and teachers in the preparation for a new school year with our ADHD resource list for reading. We hope this list will assist our readers in helping students experience improved focus, more sustained attention and betterconcentration when reading (whether online or offline). It is important to note that these resources can be helpful not only to gifted children but toALL children with focusing and attention issues. We hope the list and its "goodies" will provide you with the needed resources to help a child you know with the reading challenges of ADHD.

Helpful Reading Resources for ADHD

How to Improve Reading Skills in Children with ADHD or Learning Disabilities

by Matthew Cruger, Ph.D. and ADDitude Magazine

Guaranteed tips for improving reading comprehension in children with ADHD or learning disabilities like dyslexia.

Many ADHD Kids Also Have Reading Problems
by Denise Mann, WebMD Health News

About half of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may experience problems with reading, according to a new study in Pediatrics. It was found that 51% of boys with ADHD had reading problems, as did 46.7% of girls with ADHD. More information about this study and many reading resources for ADHD are offered here.

This desktop app is the digital version of the physical Reading Focus Cards (Patent 7,565,759), solutions for struggling readers. This app for Windows PCs and Macs provides practical READING SUPPORT for children and adults with dyslexia, ADHD, autism and other conditions that can affect reading success. It promotes more FOCUSED online reading of almost ALL digital media (webpages, PDF files, Word docs, Excel spreadsheets & more.) In addition, the Reading Focus Cards app is compatible with and supports touch-screen technology. The application can be moved on the screen over text by the fingers, mouse or arrow keys as needed.

1. For Macs (desktops & notebooks):

Visit the Mac App Store and search for Reading Focus Cards or go directly to

Visit Gumroad at https://gumroad.com/l/ReadingFocusCards OR visit the Microsoft Windows Store and search for the app called Reading Focus Cards. (No URLs are ever provided for apps in the Windows Store.)

5 Back To School Tips for Your ADD or ADHD Child
by Dr. Robert Myers, Child Psychologist

Here are some back-to-school tips to make things seem a lot easier and smoother for parents and kids.

When searching for resources to help a child or adult with special or additional needs, do you return again and again to Google for your searches? Wouldn't it be great if you could have a categorized collection of MANY different kinds of special needs resources ALL in one place and ALWAYS at your fingertips? Well, we decided to provide you with just such a collection, one that you can bookmark (we hope!) and keep ever-accessible for your future needs and that of your child, students or other adult(s).

This week, we are listing all types of special needs resources---categorized just for you---courtesy of our Pinterest boards. Please feel free to re-visit and/or share this list to help other parents, teachers and adults who care for individuals with special needs. Please let us know if there is a resource not yet posted here that deserves to be listed. If we agree, we'll add it to the collection so that others might benefit, too!

We all know that the ability to read well is an all-important keystone for success in the classroom and in life. The right strategies and tools can significantly improve one’s reading skills, particularly when learning to read is a challenge (i.e., ADHD, dyslexia and other issues).

Writing skills, on the other hand, have traditionally relied more on one’s ability to apply what has been learned through reading. This includes a host of important skills, especially in the area of proofreading: knowledge of mechanics, proper spelling, appropriate grammar usage and more. Yes, there are strategies for learning the rules and methods of proofreading a body of text, but having a reliable tool at-the-ready for a writer can provide needed support and reinforcement of such rules and methods. Unfortunately, it has been more than a little challenging to find a worthy tool that provides both accurate and comprehensive proofreading assistance for writers---until very recently.

Although we have very competent writers on our staff here at Brennan Innovators, we have been less than impressed with the traditional spell checkers and poor grammar checking tools found online. However, just a few months ago, we discovered Grammarly.com, a great site that we believe offers reliable tools for proofreading letters, papers and other documents with a surprising amount of accuracy. Although its resources may not be a direct replacement for a professional proofreader, Grammarly.comdoes offer writers a second set of eyes for their proofreading needs.

The Grammarly software actually scans text for more than 250 types of grammar mistakes in six distinct writing genres. Grammarly also provides informative flash cards to help a writer transform weak areas into strengths. In fact, Top Ten Reviews, an independent provider of reliable information for consumers, says, “Everything about Grammarly centers on not only improving written texts, but also developing the writers themselves.” This is one of the reasons it has earned the Top Ten Reviews Gold Award for 2015.

We think using the award-winning Grammarly tools now gives individuals the proofreading support they have been needing and wanting for a long time in order to help them significantly improve their writing. They only need to visit Grammarly.com to make it happen!

Resources

Grammarly.com
Grammarly improves your emails, social media posts, and documents by checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. FREE and various paid account options are available.https://www.grammarly.com

It is October and LD Awareness Month! We're commemorating the month by honoring parents and teachers of children with special learning needs as well as challenged adults. In this blog article, we have decided to provide what many of these individuals often request of us---information and resources for learning disabilities and differences (LD). We believe that the best way to do that is by presenting a GOOD list of online resources and websites in various LD categories. In this way, parents, teachers and adults challenged with specific reading or learning issues will have a go-to page to help give them direction and a place to start for the assistance they need.

We hope you will find the following categorized list of LD websites helpful for you or for someone you care about each day!

Categorized List for LD Websites

AD/HD (ADHD or ADD)
AD/HD is the notation for ADD (no hyperactivity) or ADHD (with the hyperactivity component). Both children and adults can be affected by the condition, and it can occur in varying degrees of severity from one individual to another. There really is no cure for ADHD, but it is very possible to effectively manage the symptoms of the disorder, which may include assistive tools, strategies, coaching and other helpful resources.

1. CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a national non-profit organization working to improve the lives of affected people through education, advocacy and support. From lobbying to local support groups, CHADD is a leader in the field of ADHD.http://www.chadd.org/

2. National Resource Center on AD/HD (Sponsored by CHADD) is the center funded by the CDC. It has much science-based information about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.http://www.help4adhd.org

3. ADD Resources is another non-profit serving the ADHD community. It has an extensive directory of workshops, conferences, publications, and articles for parents, teachers, adults, and medical professionals. The organization supports itself through memberships. (A fee may be charged to access some content.)http://addresources.org/

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)
Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that exists when sensory signals do not get organized into appropriate responses. The condition prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving information needed to interpret sensory input correctly. A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing countless everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively (from STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder).

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)
The most recent data from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control, 2012) indicates that in the U.S., about 1 in 88 children have been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autism spectrum disorders are almost five times more common among boys than girls – with 1 in 54 boys identified.

It is Back-to-School Season! As the new school year approaches, many parents of children with ADHD can become more than a little anxious. The relaxed days of summer offered a welcome respite from the prodding to complete homework assignments, the scheduling of school activities and the daily challenges of ADHD. Now with the pending return to school, it is easy to see that these parents and their children are reluctant to leave behind those lazy, hazy days if summer.

We can help you, your child or teen manage some of these challenges, however. Because our Reading Focus Cardswork well with e-readers (shorter size) and e-tablets (longer size), we continue to receive quite a number of requests for lists of apps to help students of all ages with many of these ADHD challenges. In fact, there are currently a significant number of apps available that can help "tame the ADHD tiger" or at least manage some of the issues and symptoms often experienced with this disorder.

Organizational skills are usually at the top of the list of issues, as these skills can frequently impact many of the other ADHD issues. For example, if a student's study area is always in a state of chaos, it is often very difficult to find homework assignments, class notes and even text books or other learning materials.

For this reason, we have gathered together here a few apps to assist you (or someone you care about) with these organizational challenges. We hope you will find that these app resources will help start your new school year on the right foot. Have a GREAT school year, everyone!

Things (for Mac, iPhone & iPad) ($9.99)
This is a task-management tool that's easy to use, yet has all the power when you need it. Projects, tags, repeat tasks – will all be at your fingertips. No matter what device you're on, Things Cloud keeps your to-dos updated across them all - automatically.http://culturedcode.com/

14 BEST iPhone/iPad & Android Apps for People w/ ADHD
ADHD is challenging, especially in this age of instant gratification, constant distraction and the need for everything at our finger tips. Even persons without ADHD find the world a distracting place. This collection of organizational apps for various tech devices can help make life easier for everyone, especially individuals with ADHD.http://www.mindhow.com/best-iphone-ipad-android-apps-for-people-with-adhd/

ADHD is not just a challenge that affects children and teens. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder can affect adults as well. In fact, current statistics indicate that approximately 8.7% of the U.S. adult population is challenged with some form of ADHD (Source: National Institute of Mental Health, 2011). However, this is certainly a condition whose symptoms can be managed with success. It just might take the right strategies and resources to help make it happen. It might also mean learning to “channel” that ever-present energy in the right direction.

We have gathered together here a short list of just the right resources to help adults who are truly MOTIVATEDto manage these symptoms so that they can have more control over their daily lives. Not only will these offerings help improve daily life at home and at work, but they will also improve the self-esteem and level of confidence for an adult challenged with ADHD. We hope you find them helpful!

Tips, Strategies & Resources for Adults with ADHD

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Adults---Statistics for U.S. adults with ADHD from National Institute of Mental Health--- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and into adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity).https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd.shtml

12 Tips for Getting Organized for Adults with ADHD---article by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.
There are small steps you can take to organize your space and your life. Attention and ADHD coach Laura Rolands and clinical psychologist and ADHD expert Ari Tuckman share their strategies for getting a handle on clutter and creating a clean space.http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/12-tips-for-getting-organized-for-adults-with-adhd/

As promised this week, we are providing our readers with a good list of helpful tips for teens and college students with ADHD. Some students in this age group often develope their own strategies to overcome or manage many of the symptoms of ADHD by the time they reach late high school or college. However, there are many who are not able to do this or who have tried to adapt but in vain.

There are specific learning strategies and study techniques that can make a measurable difference for teens and college students who really want to enjoy more academic success. We have compiled a short list of these for you to try as you begin this new semester. Just attempt to do one at a time to see how it fits in with your own personal learning style. You may find that 1 or 2 of them are good strategies for you where others are not as helpful.

Please let us know which ones work best for you and why. We’re interested in your learning success. We also would like to know if there are successful strategies you use that are not listed here. Please feel free to share these in the comment box to follow. Your good ideas could help others who are working hard to manage the many symptoms of ADHD---just like you!

List of ADHD Tips & Tricks for Teens & College Students

1. First , Learn to Be a Good Advocate for Yourself

a. Requesting time to talk with teachers, instructors and tutors can be a good first step on the road to more academic success. Always be respectful and courteous when describing your learning needs. This approach will result in having many more of those needs met. Also, remember that as a new student, you are establishing a “reputation” in the school or on the campus. Keep in mind that first impressions can last a lifetime.

b. Always ask for additional assistanceBEFOREgetting behind in your work. It is so much easier to take care of a problem early before it becomes a BIG issue. The bigger the problem, the more time and effort it will take you (and perhaps others) to resolve.

2. Plan the Term or Semester

a. Purchase or create a large desk calendar and plan for the study of each subject AND the specific chapters or units for each of your classes---BEFORE the semester or term begins.

b. “Map out” how much time and on which days you will study or work on projects, assignments or test prep. Be as specific as possible in this “mapping”. Describe what and how much you will do at a specific time. Allow plenty of time for quality research if that is expected for any assignments.

c. For long-term assignments, commit to starting such projects immediately instead of waiting until much later or when it’s almost due.

d. After a test, assess if enough time was allotted for each task, making adjustments for future units and assignments.

3. Use Graphic Organizers

a. Graphic organizers can help when trying to sort out information AND remember it. They help to visually categorize facts, dates, events, etc. so the facts are easier to understand AND remember.

a. When studying history or science facts and working memory is an “issue”, consider creating informational flash cards from ruled or unruled 3” X 5” index cards.

b. Write or type (on a computer), print, cut out and paste definitions or dates on 1 side of a card and the terms or events on the reverse side of the cards.

c. Punch holes in the upper, left-hand corner for a loose leaf ring to keep the cards “together” and flip them as you master each one’s information.

d. Although, they usually are available in white card stock, think about using colored index cards with a particular color for each chapter, content or other category of information.

e. Recycle shoeboxes as “file cabinets” for storing each chapter’s set of flash cards (use rubber bands to separate and keep organized). That way, when a semester test or exam is looming, pull out the needed flash cards and begin your review ahead of time.

5.“Change” White Page Backgrounds for More Reading Comfort

a. Try using colored but transparent acetate of polycarbonate overlays placed on white book page backgrounds, as the “whiteness” can be visually stressing and cut short your study time. Choose a different color of transparency each week, stopping when you discover which color provides the most comfort for your reading and study.

b. Consider using customizableReading Focus Cards to also change white page backgrounds to a more comfortable and less visually-stressing color. However, these sensory-appealing tools will also help your eyes focus on 1 or 2 lines of text and block out more surrounding text to diminish distractions caused by too many words/graphics on a page. If you have ADHD or dyslexia, these tools can be particularly helpful.

Whether you or someone you know is challenged with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), it is understood that struggles with organization and follow-through occur all too often and can disrupt daily life. It’s so easy to focus on the struggles and spend much less time, if any, thinking about solutions or strategies to manage those issues.

So, we thought we would provide you with some strategies to help with just this---management of ADHD symptoms and challenges. We organized the tips into separate lists, depending on who would be using the information. The post today is the first of three articles on this topic, each prepared for a specific group of individuals:

Week 1: ADHD Tips, Tricks & Strategies for Parents & Teachers

Week 2: ADHD Tips, Tricks & Strategies for Teens & College Students

Week 3: ADHD Tips, Tricks & Strategiesfor Adults

If you are a parent or teacher of one or more children with ADHD, then this week’s article is for you. We hope you’ll find the following list of ideas and strategies to be helpful for your child(ren) or students who struggle daily with ADHD:

List of ADHD Tips & Tricks for Parents & Teachers

1. One of the most important things to keep in mind with your child or student who struggles with ADHD is to think in “small bytes”---small bytes when imparting information, making requests, and doing tasks. Isolate, focus on or mention just ONE thing---one fact, one step, one question or one chore at a time until it is accomplished or completed.

Dialogue Suggestions:
a. Parent: “Molly, let’s first pick up the clothes on the floor.”
b. Teacher: “Let’s just focus on the first question at the end of the chapter.”

2. Good communication between parents and teachers is always important for every student’s success in school. However, when ADHD is part of a child or teen’s life, excellent communication between home and school is essential and can determine a student’s achievement level for an entire year (or more.) Decide early in each school year to establish good communication channels to best benefit your child or each student. Inform all concerned in the method and approach for best communication results (school email system, protocol for phone messages, etc.)

3. Think about using pastel-colored paper for printing worksheets for the classroom, if you are a teacher. For parents, think of ways to change the white background of book pages to a more soothing, less visually-stressing color (pastels or the child’s favorite color). Colored overlays can also be very good for this as can be the Reading Focus Cards (with a choice of 3 colored reading filters included with each focus card).

4. Consider the use of a sound therapy machine or a simple CD player with nature sounds can relax some students and help block out other distractions in a classroom (headphones may be needed for these or other students in the classroom.) These same tools can also soothe a child at the end of a long, hectic day so that sleep is more easily possible. Also, for parents, it may be good to know that the use of a few drops of lavender oil (from a pharmacist, online resource for vitamins or natural remedies, etc.) on a child’s pillow can provide the natural aromatherapy needed to induce sleep without the side effects of medication.

5. Plan to introduce just one of these strategies above(from 1 to 4) each week. To try more than one may make any other attempted strategies less effective or not effective at all. Keep in mind, “This one thing I do,” for you, your child or your student.

These are only a small sampling of tips and tricks for children and students with ADHD. You may have already discovered others that work well, too. Please tell us about them in the comments section of this page. We will certainly appreciate your good input on this topic. We wish you much success with these strategies and hope that they will in some way help improve the quality of life for your child, your family, your students and your classroom.

Happy New Year to you! We want to wish all our readers here much success in the new year, especially in the area of reading success.

If you are a challenged adult reader, a teacher or the parent of a struggling reader, you have just discovered a blog that should offer both help and support. The articles in this blog will provide you with effective strategies, tools and resources for readers of allages who are challenged. These challenges may be ADHD, dyslexia, autism, low vision issues or other conditions that can affect one's reading ability.

Our first article in this blog is dedicated to the many children and adults who struggle daily with ADHD (attention deficit disorder---both hyperactive and/or inattentive types). The American Psychiatric Association states in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) that 3%-7% of school-aged children have ADHD. However, studies have estimated higher rates in community samples.

It is important to note that the most recent data (for the U.S.) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that:

The percentage of children with a parent-reported ADHD diagnosis increased by 22% between 2003 and 2007.

The rates of ADHD diagnosis increased an average of 3% per year from 1997 to 2006 and an average of 5.5% per year from 2003 to 2007.

Boys (13.2%) were more likely than girls (5.6%) to have ever been diagnosed with ADHD.

Because of the focus and concentration challenges associated with attention deficit disorder, we wanted to provide you with some resources that might benefit readers with ADHD whom you know and wish to help.

Diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disability---Article from Vital and Health Statistics published July 2008---Series 10, Number 237 (from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-CDC-National Center for Health Statistics)http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/Sr10_237.pdf

CHADD--- CHADD (Children & Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is the nation’s leading non-profit organization serving individuals with ADHD and their families. CHADD has over 16,000 members in 200 local chapters throughout the U.S. Chapters offer support for individuals, parents, teachers, professionals, and others. The website offers many resources to help individuals and families challenged with ADHD.http://www.chadd.org/